| ^ | The Sermon on the PlatformA Sermon in Monologue Based on "The Sermon on the Mount"and "The Sermon on the Plain" |
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Matthew 5 – 7, <Luke 6>, John 14
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Jesus at Thirty - A Psychological and Historical Portrait By John W. Miller / Augsburg Fortress Has historical scholarship neglected the humanity of Jesus for the sake of presenting his divinity? Miller offers a psycho-historical assessment of family relationships, sexuality, temptations, midlife transitions, and more. Initially unsettling---and ultimately triumphant. Includes critique of previous studies, expansive endnotes, and bibliography. 177 pages, hardcover from Fortress. |
<But you rich folks will be wretched
then, for your have received your reward already. And you who have plenty to eat will be wretched, for then you’ll
be hungry. You folks that are so happy
and carefree now will be wretched; you’ll weep and mourn later. Woe to you who are highly spoken of. In an earlier time, people spoke highly of
false prophets and look how they ended up.>
Salt and
Light
Look.
You are salt on the world. So if the salt has lost its saltiness, how
can we say the world has been salted?
If salt isn't salty, then what’s it good for? Nothing. It might as well
be walked upon just as though it were worthless sand.
You are the world's light. The town up there on the hill is impossible
to hide. Likewise, a candle isn't lit
just to be put under a bushel basket. A
burning candle is set on a candelabrum so a dark room can be brightened up. Likewise, let your light shine by doing good
so that your goodness, like a candle in a dark room, might be seen and glory
given to your heavenly Father.
The Law and
Prophets
I haven't come to repeal the laws of Yahweh
you find in the Old Testament or to diminish the influence of their
authors. Rather, I've come to obey and
fulfill them all. The universe could pass away yet not the
slightest bit of the Old Testament law or prophets can possibly be diminished
until their fulfillment.
So whoever countermands the Commandments of
Yahweh in the slightest way will be the least in Heaven's Kingdom. But those who obey the Law will be great.
For unless your devotion to righteousness is greater than that of the pastors and
church officers, you'll never enter Heaven’s Kingdom.
For instance, you've heard tell that you
shouldn't kill anyone or you may end up on death row. But I'm telling you that
for just being angry at someone you may get the death penalty; and if you spit
at someone you may obligate yourself to the burning trash heap.
Reconciliation
So if you intend to give an offering to
Yahweh, before you do, go be reconciled first.
Befriend your accusers quickly.
Or else your accusers may turn you over to the judge and the judge may
turn you over to the bailiff and you may end up in prison. And be assured you
won't be released from there until you serve out your full sentence.
Adultery to
Love
You've heard tell that you dare not commit
adultery. But I'm telling you that if you even look at someone with intentional
lust you've already become an adulterer inside. If your eye causes you
to sin, yank it out; this is better than being thrown onto the burning trash
heap. And if your hand causes you to sin, you're better to cut it off than end
up on the heap.
You've also heard that if you want a
divorce you need to go to court. But I'm telling you that if you divorce for
any reason except immorality you make your partner an adulterer. And whoever
then marries an adulterer becomes one too, according to the Law.
You've heard tell that you shouldn't break
your solemn promise but fulfill it as though you had agreed with the Lord
himself. Now I'm telling you to give up swearing completely. Just say 'yes' or
'no'. Anything more comes from the evil one.
You've heard tell 'an eye for an eye, a
tooth for a tooth'. But I'm telling
you, it's no use getting even with somebody who's done you wrong. If someone
slaps you, let him slap you again, if he dares. If someone forces you by law to
work for him, do more work than you need to. <Listen to me: love your
enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for
those who abuse you.>
<Give to every one who asks you. If you lend something and don’t get it back,
don’t even ask for it. If you lend
expecting to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners with the expectation of getting
something more in return. Your standard
is higher than that.> In fact, give
and lend to anyone who asks and what you <give will be returned to you
generously, pressed down, shaken together, running over into your lap, measure
for measure.>
You've heard tell, 'love your friends and
hate your enemies.' But I'm telling you now, do loving acts for even your
enemies and pray for the people that cause you pain so that you may remain
children of your Father in Heaven who causes the sun to rise on both the good
and the bad and sends rain on the just and the unjust. Face it: I you only love those who love you,
where's your reward? Even the most
contemptible person loves and is loved. But you must be perfect as your Father
in Heaven is perfect.
Hypocrites
and Show-offs
Don’t do good to be seen; you'll not get
any reward for this from your Heavenly Father. When you give your offering to
the needy, don't shout it from the housetops like the show-offs do: those
people who want praise. The praise of
their crowd is the only reward they'll ever get. So when you give, don't even allow one hand know what the
other hand's doing. Give secretly and your Father will reward you openly.
Don't be a prayer-hypocrite. Show-offs love to get attention in church
and out. They've already received their
reward. But when you pray, go secretly
into your room, shut the door and pray to your Father there. And your Father, who sees you in your secret
place, will reward you in secret. And
in your prayer, don't do a lot of talking.
Some think that Yahweh is deaf so they talk really loud and long. Don't be a hypocritical show-off! Your Father knows your needs before you even
ask.
Instruction
in Prayer and Fasting
Pray like this: Our heavenly Father, your
name is sacred. May your reign come and
your purposes prevail here on earth as in Heaven. Today, give us what we need for tomorrow. Cancel our debts in the same measure that we
cancel what we’re owed. Keep us from
hard trials and temptations. Deliver us
from the evil one. Amen.
Remember that if you forgive sins, your
heavenly Father will cancel yours. But
if you fail to forgive, your heavenly Father won't forgive you either.
You may fast and pray. Now when you fast, make sure you don't screw
up your face to get attention like the show-offs do. Their reward is your attention.
When you go on a fast, wash your face and comb your hair so that the
others don’t know you're fasting. Your
heavenly Father, who watches from a secret place, will reward you.
Ask and you'll be answered. Look and you'll find. Knock and the door will swing open. This
goes for everybody. If your son asks
for an egg sandwich, will you give him a stone? Or if your daughter asks for a little check, will you give her a snake? Of course not. If evil folks still know how to give good gifts to their kids,
how much better will be the gifts that your good heavenly Father gives
you! Treat others as you want to be
treated and give others gifts that you’d like to have for yourself. If you do this, you’ll fulfill the spirit of
the Law.
Life
Investments
Don't invest your valuables in worldly
endeavors, where the moths depreciate your treasure; taxes rust it away, and
thieves steal it. Invest your valuables
in the endeavors of heaven, where there are no moths, corrosion, or
thieves. Either way you invest, your
minds and hearts will reside with your investments -- that's for sure.
The eye is the receptacle for light. If your eye works OK, your whole body will
be full of light. But if you're blind,
your whole body is full of darkness.
And if there’s no light then your darkness is very great indeed.
No one can work for two employers: either
she'll hate one and love the other, or she'll be faithful to one and despise
the other. Likewise, your employer
can't be both Yahweh and money. Don't
fret about how you'll make a living, what you'll eat or drink, your health or
what clothes you'll wear. Isn't life
more than food, your body more than clothes?
Look to the birds. They don't
work or invest money, yet your Father takes good care of them. Aren't you worth more than a flock of
birds? And does worry add years to your
life? No. So why do you worry about goods?
Think about how flowers grow.
They're not financially viable, yet even Solomon in all his glory was
never dressed as lavishly as a tiger lily.
If Yahweh clothes the grass, which lives
today but is dead and burned up on the trash heap tomorrow, then won't he do a
better job with you, as faithless as you are?
So don't be worried and say, 'How will we pay this or that' or 'what
will we eat or drink?' or 'what will we wear?'
Worldly people fret about these things; your heavenly Father already
knows what you need. So go after his
Kingdom and learn his ways and all the things you want will be yours too. Don't be worried about tomorrow; tomorrow
will worry for tomorrow. Take one day
at a time.
Criticism
and Wisdom
<And have mercy, as your Father has been
merciful to you. If you don’t judge,
you won’t be judged. If you don’t
condemn your friends, then you’ll not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.>
Don't be so critical; what goes around
comes around. You’ll be criticized in
the same measure you criticize. How can
you see the speck in your brother's eye through the log in your own? How dare you offer to exploit his little
speck? You show-off! Take the log out
of your own eye so you can see to pick out his little speck. On the other hand, don't throw your pearls
to the hogs. If you do, they may be
trampled as the hogs turn to attack you.
Which Way to
Go
Choose the narrow door. The wide and easy door leads to
destruction. Most people take the easy
way. But the road that leads to life is
narrow and difficult. Few people find
it. Along this road, be wary of
advisors who act as though they were really concerned about your welfare. By appearance, they’re as innocent as
lambs. But inside, they’re as hungry as
wolves. You'll know them by their fruits. Do scuppernongs grow on a sticker bush? Or do satsumas grow on a prickly pear
tree? No. Every healthy tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad
fruit. A bad tree can never bear good
fruit or a good tree bad fruit. Every
tree that doesn't bear good fruit will be chopped down and pitched on the
burning trash heap. If you know fruit
trees then you'll know good advisors from bad.
Just because you say I’m 'the Lord' doesn't
mean you'll enter my Kingdom. No. You’ll only enter by doing what my Father
wants. Some day many folks will say to
me, 'Lord, Lord; didn't we preach for you and cast out demons for you and do
great things for you?' And then I'll
tell them plainly. 'No, you
didn't. I never even knew you. Get away
from me! You are ministers of the
devil.'
<Can the blind lead the blind? Won’t
they both fall in the trash pit? A
student isn’t smarter that his teacher, but he will be when his teacher has
taught him everything.>
These are my instruction for those of you
who really want to enter my Kingdom.
<Don’t call on me, “Lord, Lord,” yet not do what I tell you.> Every one who hears me and does what I say
will be like a contractor who builds his house on a solid footer. The hurricanes came and beat on the house,
but it didn't fall because of its strong foundation. Whoever won't follow my instructions is like the fool who built
his house right out on the beach. The
hurricane came and the waves beat against it and it fell down: and devastating
was its fall.
And in the
End
(John 14)
If you believe that I am in the Father and
the Father is in me, then you know that what I say doesn’t come from me but
from Him. Truth now, I am in the Father
and the Father’s in me. You know this
because of the signs I’ve shown you: healings, exorcisms, miracles. If you believe in me, you can perform these
same signs, and even greater ones, because I’m going to help you from my
Father’s side. Whatever you ask in my
name I’ll do so that our Father may be all the more greatly appreciated. If you ask for something to be done in my
name, I’ll do it.
If you love me you will keep all my
sayings. Then if you do, I’ll ask my
Father and he’ll give you an advocate to be with you forever, the Spirit of
truth. The rest of the world can never
accept this advocate because it doesn’t know him; but you know him
because he is with you and in you. No,
I never meant to leave you as orphans; I will come to you as your advocate.
Whoever holds to my commandments and keeps
them loves me; and my Father loves whoever loves me, and I’ll love her and
reveal myself to her. So don’t be
troubled. If in “God you trust,” trust in
me also. My Father's place has many
luxury apartments; I’m fixing up an apartment for you. And when it’s ready, I’ll come get you so
that you can be with me always.
(Revelation 22:12-14) And I’m coming soon with rewards, to repay
all people, as their service deserves. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First
and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
Those who wash their robes clean will be blessed. They’ll walk through the gates of that
Beloved City of New Jerusalem and feed on the Blessed Tree of Life
forever. Amen.
October 10, 1996; February 1, 2002